Diplomacy and International Politics

Foreign Affairs has recently published a number of articles on how the United States should engage with the Taliban government in Afghanistan, extremist forces within the regime, how the West can help ordinary Afghans, and the fate of the country’s women. To complement these essays, Foreign Affairs asked a broad pool of experts for their take. As with previous surveys, Foreign Affairs approached dozens of authorities with expertise relevant to the question at hand, along with leading generalists in the field. Participants were asked to state whether they agreed or disagreed with a proposition and to rate their confidence level in their opinion. Two Belfer Center experts participated, International Security Executive Editor Jacqueline L. Hazelton and Future of Diplomacy Project Senior Fellow Paula Dobriansky.

Recap of MEI Event “Can the Future of Jihadism Be Predicted?” with Dr. Thomas Hegghammer

The Social Bureaucrat: How Social Proximity among Bureaucrats Affects Local Governance

Debtscapes: the politics of social reproduction in the post-revolution city

Unequal Political Selection across the Secular-Islamist Divide: Evidence from the First Democratic Local Elections in Tunisia

The effects of diversionary foreign policy under authoritarianism: evidence from Jordan

Political Parties and the Provision of Non-State Security in Lebanon

Learning About Diversity in Healthcare Institutions Reduces Prejudice: Evidence from the COVID-19 Crises in Israel and the U.S.

Social media is changing not only the atmosphere in which international negotiations take place; it is also changing the very substance of the deals. Because of the pace and proliferation of social media, negotiators must read “weak signals” early on—and anticipate a quickly organized, highly motivated opposition. However, diplomatic negotiators still lack the tools to engage in this sort of anticipatory strategy design. 

Ambassador Nicholas Burns speaks about Israel's diplomatic deal with the UAE and Bahrain.